Waferscale physiological characteristic sensor package with integrated wireless transmitter
An embodiment of a sensor device includes a base substrate, a circuit pattern formed overlying the interior surface of the substrate, a physiological characteristic sensor element on the exterior surface of the substrate, conductive plug elements located in vias formed through the substrate, each conductive plug element having one end coupled to a sensor electrode, and having another end coupled to the circuit pattern, a multilayer component stack carried on the substrate and connected to the circuit pattern, the stack including features and components to provide processing and wireless communication functionality for sensor data obtained in association with operation of the sensor device, and an enclosure structure coupled to the substrate to enclose the interior surface of the substrate, the circuit pattern, and the stack.
1. A physiological characteristic sensor device comprising:
a base substrate having an exterior surface and an interior surface opposing the exterior surface;
a conductive circuit pattern formed overlying the interior surface of the base substrate;
a physiological characteristic sensor element located on the exterior surface of the base substrate, the physiological characteristic sensor element comprising sensor electrodes;
conductive plug elements located in vias formed through the base substrate, each conductive plug element having a first end electrically coupled to one of the sensor electrodes, and having a second end electrically coupled to the conductive circuit pattern, the vias and the conductive plug elements being configured to employ a counterbore methodology to provide mechanical support for an insertion needle for deploying the physiological characteristic sensor element in a user;
a multilayer component stack carried on the base substrate and connected to the conductive circuit pattern, the multilayer component stack comprising components to provide processing and wireless communication functionality for sensor data obtained in association with operation of the physiological characteristic sensor device; and
an enclosure structure coupled to the base substrate to enclose the interior surface of the base substrate, the conductive circuit pattern, and the multilayer component stack.
2. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 1 , wherein:
the enclosure structure is formed from a second substrate; and
the enclosure structure comprises a plurality of sidewalls and a lid integrally formed with the sidewalls.
3. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure structure is formed from a compression molded material overlying the base substrate and the multilayer component stack.
4. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the enclosure structure is formed from an overmolded material overlying the base substrate and the multilayer component stack.
5. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the base substrate comprises a semiconductor material, a glass material, a sapphire material, or a polymer material.
6. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the multilayer component stack comprises:
an active layer;
a passive component layer; and
a power source component layer.
7. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 6 , wherein:
the passive component layer is electrically and physically coupled to the conductive circuit pattern as a first layer of the multilayer component stack;
the active layer is electrically and physically coupled to the passive component layer as a second layer of the multilayer component stack; and
the power source component layer is electrically and physically coupled to the active layer as a third layer of the multilayer component stack.
8. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 6 , wherein the active layer comprises a system on a chip (SoC) device.
9. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 6 , further comprising an interconnect arrangement to electrically and physically couple together the active layer, the passive component layer, and the power source component layer.
10. The physiological characteristic sensor device of claim 6 , wherein the power source component layer comprises a plurality of solid state battery elements in a stacked arrangement.
11. A method of fabricating physiological characteristic sensor devices, the method comprising:
forming a conductive circuit pattern overlying a first surface of a base substrate, the conductive circuit pattern electrically coupled to conductive plug elements located in vias formed through the base substrate, the vias and the conductive plug elements being configured to employ a counterbore methodology to provide mechanical support for an insertion needle for deploying a physiological characteristic sensor element of physiological characteristic sensor elements in a user, the conductive circuit pattern comprising individual circuit layouts for a plurality of die locations, and the conductive plug elements arranged in a pattern for the plurality of die locations,
mounting a plurality of multilayer component stacks to the conductive circuit pattern such that each multilayer component stack is electrically and physically coupled to a respective one of the individual circuit layouts, each multilayer component stack comprising features and components to provide processing and wireless communication functionality for obtained sensor data;
after the mounting, forming an enclosure structure overlying the first surface of the base substrate to individually cover and enclose each of the multilayer component stacks;
fabricating the physiological characteristic sensor elements overlying a second surface of the base substrate, the second surface opposing the first surface of the base substrate, each physiological characteristic sensor element comprising sensor electrodes electrically coupled to respective instances of the conductive plug elements, and each physiological characteristic sensor element corresponding to a respective one of the die locations, wherein the fabricating results in a plurality of sensor devices integrated on and carried by the base substrate; and
after the fabricating, separating each of the plurality of sensor devices from one another, resulting in a plurality of physically discrete sensor device components.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
forming the vias in the base substrate, the vias arranged in a pattern for the plurality of die locations; and
filling the vias with an electrically conductive material to create the conductive plug elements.
13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
forming a plurality of cavities in a second substrate to create the enclosure structure,
wherein the cavities are formed in an arrangement that individually encloses each of the multilayer component stacks.
14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
attaching the second substrate, with the cavities formed therein, overlying the first surface of the base substrate.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein forming the enclosure structure comprises:
compression molding a material overlying the base substrate and the multilayer component stacks.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein forming the enclosure structure comprises:
overmolding a material overlying the base substrate and the multilayer component stacks.
17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
fabricating each of the multilayer component stacks from a plurality of individual component layers including an active layer, a passive component layer, and a power source component layer.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein, for each of the multilayer component stacks:
electrically and physically coupling the passive component layer to the conductive circuit pattern as a first layer of the multilayer component stack;
electrically and physically coupling the active layer to the passive component layer as a second layer of the multilayer component stack; and
electrically and physically coupling the power source component layer to the active layer as a third layer of the multilayer component stack.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein fabricating the physiological characteristic sensor elements comprises:
forming a sensor element pattern directly on the second surface of the base substrate.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
peeling at least a portion of each physiological characteristic sensor element away from the second surface of the base substrate.